The greatest goalscorers in the history of AFCON

Pulse Sports' Thomas Freeman Yeboah brings you a list of the greatest marksmen to have graced the Africa Cup of Nations.

Since its inception in 1957, the Africa Cup of Nations has been graced by strikers of extraordinary efficacy. Heres our top five picks.

Samuel Eto'o:

Fast and energetic in his heydays, Eto'o is the most decorated African player of all time, having won the African Player of the Year award a record four times: in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2010. Samuel Eto'o scored a record 18 goals in six Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournaments. He was third in the FIFA World Player of the Year award in 2005. The former Barcelona and Inter Milan striker helped Cameroon win two Africa Cup of Nations titles in 2000 and 2002 and was also instrumental when the Indomitable Lions replicated Nigeria's feat as the second African country to win the Olympic Games (2000)

"Rashidi Yekini" Nigeria's record international goal poacher

Laurent Pokou

The Ivorian's incredible feat of scoring 14 Africa Cup of Nations goals in two tournaments (1968 and 1970) stood for four decades before Samuel Eto'o Fils broke that record in 2010. He picks up the number two spot on the list of greatest scorers in the history of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).

Rashid Yekini:

The bulky striker bagged 13 goals in the AFCON: Yekini had a fantastic tournament in 1994, winning the best player and topscorer awards, as Nigeria cruised to their second Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) triumph. He was a deadly attacker and gave most defenders much to worry about.

Hassan El-Shazly

He is a retired Egyptian footballer. Nicknamed a “devastating shooter”, he was the Egyptian Premier League top goal scorer. He appeared in a number of the African Cup of Nations tournaments for the Egyptian national team and scored 12 goals overall.

Patrick Mboma

Patrick Mboma's most beautiful goal

The former Cameroon attacker emerged as the joint topscorer in two Africa Cup of Nations tournaments - 2002 and 2002. On top of it he helped Cameroon win both tournaments as well as the 2000 Olympic Games. He formed a fearsome strike partnership with Samuel Eto'o and scored 11 goals overall in the AFCON. His trademark goal-scoring celebration was a two-gun shooting spree with both his hands. He was renowned for scoring long distance goals with his powerful shooting.

Hossam Hassan

He is arguably the greatest Egyptian player, having won the Africa Cup of Nations winners medal thrice -1986, 1998 and 2006. Hossam Hassan, who finished second in the African best players in the past 50 years in 2007, registered 11 goals in the AFCON, including an amazing seven goals in the 1998 to emerge alongside, Benny MacCarthy as the tournament’s joint top scorer.

Didier Drogba

The all-time topscorer of the Ivorian national team is indeed the greatest footballer to have emerged from the West African country. Didier Drogba, who had the chance to play for the French national team, but decided to serve Ivory Coast instead, is one of the deadliest strikers Africa has ever produced. He appeared in three continental showpieces and scored 11 goals. In the process, he helped the Elephants reach the final twice, yet they lost both on penalties against Egypt and Zambia respectively. Didier Drogba has won the African Footballer of the Year award twice.